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CRM for Professional Services Buyer's Guide
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To stay on top of the competition and grow their practice, professional services firms need sophisticated customer relationship management software. The features that make a CRM system valuable for professional services include contacts with detailed contact information, opportunities, and contracts that track sales pipeline data for prospects, email templates for specific client types, managing time off requests by team members, and upcoming work commitments.
» What is CRM Software for Professional Services?
CRM Software that helps keep track of your contacts and lets you know when they need something or want to be contacted again? That might sound like a salesperson or client relationship management software. But it's not. It's Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Whether you are in sales or professional services, it's a valuable tool that makes you more efficient and effective at your job, whether you are a sales rep who has to keep track of leads or if you're in professional services and have multiple clients across several industries. A professional services CRM will help you:
› Track customer calls, emails, time off requests, and upcoming business commitments. This is especially useful if a company has several different companies working on a project (for example, a custom software developer). It allows you to track the work that another team member has so that you can be sure it's getting done promptly (this works exceptionally well if those other members aren't taking regular time off).
› Make it easier for clients to request assistance, whether they're downloading your templates or creating new contracts.
› Save time – let the software update your calendars automatically based on the date of your next meeting, and client calls.
› The higher a sales manager goes in a company, the more difficult it is to keep track of who is doing what, when, and for how long. CRM software for professional services firms can keep everyone on the same page by tracking time and assigning tasks to ensure everyone is doing their part to reach the company's goals.
» Features of CRM Software for Professional Services
CRM software for professional services, is one of the essential software in any business. It's a type of automation that helps to store and manage information about customers, contacts, orders, and much more. In this guide, we'll go through some key features you should look for when choosing CRM software for professional services business.
› Workflow automation: The more you can pack into your workflow, the less time you need to waste on admin and the more time you have to focus on serving customers. Look for CRM software for professional services that offer automated storage of customer information and tasks like invoicing or debt collection. As part of this, look for an interface that is easy to use with a clean design. Also, ensure data entry is simple and quick without typos ruining everything, which can sometimes be an issue with mobile apps when typing quickly on a tiny keyboard.
› Contact management: One of the main benefits of CRM software for professional services is that it helps you manage your customer database, contacts, and, as a result, leads. Look for tools that will allow you to quickly email, SMS, or create phone calls with specific information about your customers.
› Order management: Professional services CRM should also have an easy-to-use web interface to view orders by customer or contact type, quotes, and invoices.
› Email marketing campaigns: An email marketing component to professional services CRM will allow you to create, send and track customer sales emails. If a customer has already purchased from your business, you can use this as a chance to offer them more products or services. Ensure that your emails are well-segmented for each customer and that you're only sending relevant information that won't be seen as spam. An integrated email marketing service such as MailChimp, Get Response, or Campaign Monitor is a good component in this area.
› Reporting and analytics: A proper CRM tool for professional services firms should provide reports on the data stored and tracked in the system. Also, ensure the tool you choose has a good set of analytics tools that will allow you to monitor your leads and sales for future campaigns.
› Social media integration: Social media integration with your professional services CRM is an excellent way to grow your business. It allows you to add a 'follower' feature and ensure you get updated on any new social posts that customers share about your business.
› Lead management: To help manage your customer database, service business CRM software allows you to manage and segment leads. This means you can look at each lead's sales and demographics data to identify specific customers you should target. As a result, your bright leads can be turned into pre-qualified prospects or cold email leads.
› Support: Customer support or service desk is another critical area of your service business CRM software. This is where you'll need to go when a customer has a problem or question about their order. The process shouldn't be too complicated and shouldn't delay the resolution of customer issues unnecessarily, so it should be easy to contact support from the main dashboard interface of your software.
› Employee tracking: One of the critical benefits of service business CRM software is that it helps you to manage your employee database and track who works where. This enables you to ensure that you have a full-time staff with regular working hours and visibility into their activities, which can be very useful in employee performance reviews.
› Payment gateway integration: Professional Services CRM software helps streamline payment processes for your business. Look for a system compatible with the most common payment gateways to simplify the collection process and create reports on how well each customer performs in different countries or states.
› Real-time data: One of the key benefits of CRM for the professional services industry is that it helps you get instant access to customer and contact information even when you're not working. Use the CRM for professional services to monitor performance and do real-time forecasting based on data that the workforce has entered. For example, if sales start dropping off mid-summer, use this information to take action and send a message through your CRM with a call-to-action reminding people to take some time off during the summer.
› Data analysis: You can also use data analysis reports in your CRM software to track specific metrics like daily sales, long-term trends, or whether certain products have been successful.
» Benefits of CRM Software for Professional Services
If you're in any service-based business, CRM software for professional services firms can be a great tool to help you keep track of your customers and prospects. Here are some of the advantages that CRM software offers for a service-based business:
› Automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks:
CRM software for professional services firms can help you manage your customers and prospects as completely and efficiently as possible. For example, an office manager who has to keep track of all their clients' information is likely to have a lot of details to remember about each client. These details can entail hours, days, or even weeks that could be far better spent on more profitable, meaningful work.
› Removing misunderstandings:
CRM software allows you to keep track of your client's information and keep them in contact with one another at all times, eliminating the potential for misunderstandings and miscommunications within your business. By keeping everyone updated on everything, you can eliminate any potential problems before they arise.
› Better customer service:
You can significantly improve your customer service with the ease of accessing information that professional services CRM can provide. You'll be able to have all the required information about a client in one place and get quick access to what they're looking for. The easier it is to help your clients and prospects, the better your support will be, and the more likely they will come back.
› Managing attendance:
You may want more control over how much time your employees spend with each client and prospect. CRM software for professional services makes scheduling appointments easier, tracking the hours spent with or talking to a particular client, monitoring who's turning their paperwork in on time and who's late, etc.
› Improved customer retention:
CRM software for professional services makes it easier to keep your clients coming back to see you or refer friends and family. With easy access to information, you can keep them up-to-date with progress on their project and other work you're doing for them. If they've been with you for a while, they'll know how much progress you've made and will feel more comfortable recommending your services to their friends or family members.
› More accurate customer reports:
Spreadsheets can be great tools for analyzing how well a project is going, but they're rarely precise enough for the details of a specific client's business.
» How much does CRM Software for Professional Services cost?
If your business has complex needs, the cost of the software and implementation can quickly go up. Therefore, understanding what your budget is going to be before purchasing CRM software for professional services is essential. Ideally, a Professional Services firm should budget around $100-$300 per month per user for CRM software. Then add 30% of that cost to the bill to cover implementation, training, and support. Make sure you ask any vendor how long it will take them to provide you with a fully functioning tool and any upgrade costs that may occur along the way.
» Conclusion:
Be sure to evaluate all factors carefully before you invest in any system. There are various CRM software for professional services firms available on the market that can track your leads, but not many automate the processes for creating reports and organizing contacts. Make sure to choose the best CRM software for your professional services firm.